Because I Knew You
by thewickedverkaiking
Summary: It's Valentine's Day, and Elphaba can't wait for it to be over. However, can Glinda make it an amazing day for both of them? Who does she give her valentine to? Childhood fluff. GELPHIE FRIENDSHIP AU. Valentine's Day ONE-SHOT. Booksical. I don't own Wicked. Please review!


**Yup, here's a Valentine's day one-shot because I'm a sucker for young Glinda/Elphaba fics :D Please review!**

It was that day in February again, and Elphaba could practically feel the difference in the atmosphere when she walked into the classroom with Glinda that Tuesday morning. It was Valentine's Day, and the green girl couldn't wait for it to be over. She may have only been eight, but she particularly scorned these kinds of "mushy and romantic nonsense" as she proclaimed to Glinda on their walk to school.

The blonde Gilikinese, on the other hand, was incredibly excited. With a knack for anything artsy and a sweet tooth, she couldn't wait to make valentines again in class this year. Momsie had gone with Daddy to the Emerald City, which meant they would return that night with lots of her favorite candies and chocolates.

On their desks, the teacher had already set out the art supplies for making the valentines for their last class of the afternoon. Elphaba wrinkled her nose as she slid into her seat, looking at the pink, red, and white pieces of paper with apparent disdain.

"This is going to suck," she muttered.

"Oh Elphie, this is going to be _so_ fun!" Glinda squealed. "I've already got my design _all_ planned out!"

Elphaba nodded. "Good for you. I don't even have anyone to give it to."

"You could give it to your—" Glinda clamped her hand over mouth, realizing that 'mom' had almost slipped out. Elphaba's mother had died just last month giving birth to her baby brother Shell, and to the already neglected green girl, the pain was still fresh. It was one of the reasons why, Glinda guessed, Elphaba scorned Valentine's Day so much—the only person she had been able to give a valentine to, the only person who actually loved her, was now gone.

"My what?" Elphaba asked, scribbling several ugly drawings with her black marker on one of the scraps of pink paper.

Glinda's brain scrambled for a good answer. "Uh, uh, you could give it to… me?" she finally blurted out. _To me?_

"You know what?" Elphaba's eyes brightened. "That's actually a great idea!" She promptly picked up a pair of scissors, and attempted to cut a heart shape. "Why must it be pink?" she grumbled under her breath.

"Because it's such a cute and pretty color!" Glinda shot back, a little loudly, and the teacher gave the two of them a stern look.

Glinda debated with herself for a long time, struggling to decide if she should write her valentine to Elphaba, or the cute blonde boy sitting three rows behind whom she didn't even know the name of. Glancing at Elphaba, who was extremely focused on gluing two pieces of paper together, she finally decided she would address it to her green friend.

Quickly, she cut out several hearts, gluing them artistically around the cover of the pink card. Selecting a silver marker, she penned a simple message to Elphaba. Signing her name with a flourish just like how Momsie signed her letters, she folded up the card and slipped it into her bag.

Leaving to the bathroom to wash the glue off her fingers, she came back to the classroom as the children had gotten their bags packed and were ready to leave. Elphaba was standing by her desk, reading a piece of paper in her hands. To Glinda's surprise, Elphaba crumpled the paper, tossed it to the ground, and stormed out of the room.

Curiosity got the best of her, and Glinda stepped forward to pick the piece of paper up.

It was a valentine.

Unfolding it, Glinda read the messy pencil scrawl: _"Hey Broccoli, you probably won't be getting any valentines today, so I'm writing you one. Did you know green is a really ugly color? You're kinda dumb anyway, maybe that's why you're only friend is that weird blonde girl who likes ugly pink dresses. Nobody likes green girls. Witches shouldn't celebrate Valentine's Day. You should just go away."_

Glinda angrily ripped the card in half and tossed it into the trash can. She knew Elphaba would be deeply hurt by such messages, even if she pretended to shrug it off. Slinging her bag over her shoulders, she hurried into the school garden—Elphaba always retreated there whenever she felt upset.

Reaching the bottom of the Quoxwood tree where the two had first shared lunch under, she called, "Elphie, come down."

No response.

"Elphie, I know you're up there. Get down."

Still no answer.

"Elphaba." She called more sternly this time, adding a little stamp of her foot.

A loud sigh, and Elphaba reluctantly clambered down. "What?" she asked, shoulders hunched slightly and appearing visibly upset.

Her melancholy expression made Glinda's heart sink a little, but she put on a bright smile and pulled the other girl into a hug. "Do you want to come to my house? We can celebrate Valentine's there!"

"Will your parents—"

"Of course!" Glinda interrupted, not bothering to listen to the rest of the question. "Momsie and Daddy have gone to the Emerald City for today, and Ama Clutch wouldn't mind setting out some extra tea."

Elphaba nodded. "Alright," she acquiesced.

"Yay! Let's go!" Glinda grasped Elphaba's hand and the two marched out of the school gate.

A clump of mud sailed through the air, landing just in front of them. "Happy Valentine's, articoke!" a freckle-faced boy laughed meanly.

"It's _artichoke_ , you stupid boy," Elphaba called back, tossing a much better aimed clump back in his direction, where it hit the boy right on the arm of his uniform sleeve. Glinda tried not to smile at the comical expression of the boy who now surveyed his dirtied shirt in dismay. Satisfied, Elphaba wiped her hand on the skirt of her faded dress, smirking.

"Not bad," Glinda snickered.

"Serves him right," Elphaba shrugged.

The two girls strolled back home, Glinda supplying most of the talking, and Elphaba her usual quiet self, listening patiently but occasionally adding her own point of view. At last, they reached the grand Upland estate. Part of the royal Gilikinese line, Glinda's family was definitely well-off. Their sprawling mansion stood in stark contrast to the Thropps' little cottage. Elphaba had been to Glinda's house many times after school, the Upland parents more than delighted to see her, after getting over the initial shock that their daughter's best friend was as green as the Emerald City itself.

Glinda climbed the spiral staircase leading to her bedroom, Elphaba just behind and looking painfully out of place in the rich, spotless house. Pushing open the door to a room that was probably over half the size of Elphaba's entire home, the blonde sprang lithely onto her bed, and the Munchkin plopped down comfortably next to her.

Pulling open a drawer, Glinda took out a heart-shaped tin of expensive chocolates. Popping one into her mouth, she offered the tin to Elphaba. "Try one!"

Elphaba did, and grinned as it melted in her mouth. "It's delicious," she nodded, licking her fingers and taking another.

"It really is," Glinda agreed, cramming two into her mouth, and between them the entire tin was gone in less than fifteen minutes.

"And now," Glinda set the empty tin down and reached into her schoolbag, pulling out the valentine she had made earlier that afternoon. "Happy Valentine's Day," she murmured, handing the card to Elphaba and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Oh!" Elphaba blushed a darker shade of green. "I almost forgot." Digging into her pocket, she pulled out her own valentine, slightly embarrassed that it had been crumpled, and then handed it to Glinda. "Happy Valentine's, Glinda."

Elphaba's valentine was rather plain compared to Glinda's one, which was decorated with lots of die-cuts and glitter glue. In silver ink, the Gilikinese girl had neatly written a short message in her loopy cursive.

 _Dear Elphaba,_

 _Happy Valentine's Day! I love you very much and you are the bestest best friend! Thank you for always being there for me!_

 _Love, Glinda Upland of the Upper Uplands._

Elphaba folded the card, and when she looked back up at Glinda, her eyes were glistening with unshed tears. This took Glinda aback, for as long as she had known the Munchkin, she had never cried due to her allergy to water—even her own tears would burn her. "Thank you, Glin," Elphaba said, her voice husky with emotion. She shook her head, ashamed at how 'mushy' she was turning. "It's just… I've never gotten a real valentine from anyone before."

Glinda smiled back, "I'm glad I'm your first then."

"Now," Elphaba said, her usual tone of voice returning to her, "Read mine."

"Alright," Glinda laughed, unfolding the valentine. Elphaba wasn't as talented artistically, the heart-shaped card was cut a little crudely and the neatly printed words in black marker appeared a little boring, but in Glinda's eyes it was a most perfect valentine.

 _Dearest Glinda,_

 _Happy Valentine's day to my favorite person in all of Oz! I am so grateful for you. Thank you so much for being my best, closest, and only friend. Thank you for always sticking by me, even when it was difficult for you. I love talking to you and you mean so much to me. I'm so happy I knew you, because I have been changed for good. You are the best! I love you!_

 _Love, your Green Bean._

"Wow," Glinda managed to say after a minute. Elphaba sat next to her, nervously chewing her nails, afraid of what Glinda might think of her ramble. "Wow, thank you so much, Elphaba… that, that was so pretty." She laughed a little, wiping a tear from her cheek. "You've always been a better writer than me," she joked.

Elphaba exhaled in relief. "I'm so happy you like it," she cracked a small smile.

"You know what? Let's do something fun!" Glinda exclaimed, jumping up from the bed and running over to another chest of drawers. Elphaba inwardly groaned, the blonde probably had another crazy idea and she was going to be the test subject. Sure enough, Glinda came back with a pink flower hairpin in her hand.

The green girl gulped as Glinda squealed, "Look! This is perfect! I'm giving this to you, come, let me clip this onto your hair!" Without even waiting for Elphaba to reply, she swept Elphaba's raven hair into a side part and pinned it, then stepped back to survey her work. "It's so prettified!" she clapped her hands gleefully. "Pink goes _good_ with green!"

Elphaba raised her eyebrows, unconvinced at her friend's antics. Glinda grabbed a mirror from her dresser, handing it to her. "Look, Elphie, you're beautiful."

Reluctantly, Elphaba glanced at the mirror. The girl that stared back surprised her. She had to admit that the pink flower Glinda had put in her hair actually looked good. Well, as good as green Munchkin could possibly hope to look. "Wow, thank you, Glinda." She breathed, dropping the mirror on the duvet and tackling Glinda to the ground with a mischievous giggle.

Glinda yelped in surprise, the two girls laughing and rolling on the carpet for a clock-tick, and then she pulled Elphaba into a sitting position. "Happy Valentine's Day, Elphie," she smiled, snuggling into the green girl's embrace.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Glinda," Elphaba said, hugging her best friend tightly. "I'm so happy I knew you."

 **Hope you liked it! Constructive criticism/reviews appreciated! :)**


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